Entries in Boxing
(4)

What do these guys at CoverSports do? What don't they do is the better question. If it has to do with baseball, football, tennis, track, soccer, golf or virtually any other sport and it needs to be covered up, look no farther.

They do personalized outfield and stadium wall covers. You know the ones with the cool illustrations, logos and ads? That's them. They do rain tarps, sideline covers, special events, and on and on.

They are especially proud of they GymGuard gymnasium protector. They stock them in virtually any weight and color to suit your budget and application. Since they are the actual manufacturer, they have an advantage over others who subcontract or simply re-sell.

Since new gym floors cost tens of thousands of dollars it makes sense to bring in a GymGuard to protect your investment. Constructed of ultra durable and vinyl reinforced fabric. They are water-resistent, slip resistent and fire-resistent. You can also add letters or logos. They can be quickly unrolled and laid out to protect that valuable floor.

So from NFL stadiums to MLB field tarps to your local high school gym floor, there's no one better to blanket you in top of the line quality.

Most of the products we review these days have accompanying marketing videos. Some are quite effective while others are...not so much. Zoid Fitness is a product that is easy to understand in concept so you'd think a video touting its benefits might not be necessary. But we're glad they made one. Because after we watched it, we were blown away.

My daughter will soon be playing college soccer. She frequently works on her agility through solo training. A year or so ago she asked for an agility ladder, which we bought for her.

So when the folks from Zoid contacted us and asked us to try their agility training system we were excited to see if this was something new and different. When it arrived and I asked my daughter to check it out, I have to admit she didn't see the point. She said she had an agility ladder and that was good enough. Then I asked her to come over to the computer so she could watch the video.

Like most teenage girls she isn't big on admitting she was wrong. It only took about a minute for her to say she “got it,” and understood now what the big deal was. The beauty and power of Zoid is its versatility. There's no other product out there we know of that can do so much.

Instead of one long and one-dimensional ladder, Zoid is a set of twelve extremely heavy-duty rubber trapezoids which can be arranged in a nearly infinite number of patters. We had assumed that these would be light weight and flimsy, maybe like workout cones, but the product is thick and very durable. This, of course, means that no matter how many times they're stepped on, tossed around and otherwise abused, they'll still be in perfect shape year-after-year.

They can be used in nearly any sport and on any surface. You can download a tutorial from their website on how to set up many, various patterns and do multiple training exercises. There really is no way you can become bored and there are so many skills you can develop. Coaches can use their creativity in designing challenging, custom regimens. Patterns like snakes, circles, hopscotch – some connected some segmented – each one developing different muscles and strengths. Every personal skills trainer should own a set.

But again, if you're still not sure...go take a look at the video. If it convinced my daughter, there's a good chance you'll be sold too. The beauty is you don't have to be a genius to use this product. But the folks who thought it up sure were.

If you want to set up your home gym with one of the best speed bags on the market, but don’t want to take out a second mortgage, the folks at Balazs (www.boxingsource.com) have hit upon an economical solution.

The i-Box SBP features updated styling and reduced maintenance without sacrificing Balazs’ trademark durability. Designed with the same superior quality as Balazs’ professional products, the i-Box Speed Bag Platform sports a super-stiff V-frame bracket for solid rebounding action and a high-performance workout.

Once you hit the bag, you’ll be hooked. The i-Box improves your reflexes, conditioning and strength all in a manner of minutes. The faster you hit it, the better it likes it. Now, thanks to Balazs, you can train like the main event, on an undercard’s budget.

For the ultimate in boxing or combat sports training, an innovative product called Glideboxx (www.glideboxx.com), looks like it is poised to be a big hit.

Unlike a standard heavy bag that barely moves, the unique design of Glideboxx enables a heavy bag of choice to glide anywhere within a 4ft x 6ft zone. The bag travels freely along a linear plane, forcing users out of their comfort zone so that they must employ footwork during training. The moving bag creates angles so that fighters must develop striking accuracy with a repositioning target. Glideboxx is powered by the force and impact of the user, with no motors or electrical components.

The device can be altered to adjust movement and speed according to preference, which makes it more like training with a live opponent. From footwork and handspeed to set-ups and even the clinch, GlideBoxx helps develop the skill and power necessary to become an explosive fighter. Chase it around for a while and you'll probably be mad enough to punch something.